Search the Community

Thanks for the support, ladies. It means a lot. Sometimes this food thing is a lonely place to be. I'm trying to be brutally honest with myself and my crazy, unhealthy behaviors. I'm ready to give up my excuses (alcoholic father, mother married 5 times, moving so much when young, blah, blah, blah) and take responsibility for my CHOICES. Food was always there for me; a constant in my crazy life and the way my grandmother (another constant) showed love. Eating something yummy (read: bad for me) made me feel good and being full (stuffed!) made me happy. I struggle every day, but I've been to enough AA crap to know that all you can do it take it one day at a time. And some days, I can only take it 15 minutes at a time! But I'M DOING IT!! I have to. I have three beautiful, young children and an amazing husband who NEED and love me!!

I am so thankful for all the support that is being poured out! That is what so many of us need. I am treating my eating as an addiction that is no different than an alcoholic. It is that serious to me. keep checking in yall. I weigh on monday mornings so I will try to post my results, hopefully it may be an encouragement to someone!

Water....seriously that is the best thing you can drink. If you are asking about alcoholic drinks... Vodka and water heavy on water...with a splash of cranberry might be the closest to being the best.

Water w Mio.........alcohol, not allowed for me for 6 months and not worth the calories.

Good lord I love this thread. I am a binge eater and a secret eater. If I picked up food for work or home, I always had something "extra" to eat in the car on the way back. If I had to stop at the drugstore, I got a candy bar and ate it before I got home. I'd sit in my car and eat lunch after driving through somewhere bc I didn't want anyone to see how much I ate. And when I'd get donuts on the way to work, I pretended that some of them were for my coworkers, but they were really all for me. It's such painful behavior and it's both humiliating and liberating to admit it. My BFF and I (both with troubled childhoods and difficult mothers) "joke" about our addiction by saying, "Well, lets just go eat a hug." I've always HATED myself for having no willpower and feeling powerless over food. I'm about 3 months out from surgery and my appetite is returning to a certain degree. It terrifies me. To date, I have not "cheated". I'm proud of myself for choosing well so far and I have an amazing DH and circle of friends cheering me on. I know I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm trying hard to deal with my addiction to food and it is like dancing with the devil. I come my a family of addicts and worry every day that I can't do this. I told my DH, "It's like telling an alcoholic, 'I know you can't handle alcohol, but you'll have to drink it every day of your life and it's up to you to make sure that you drink only this certain type of alcohol and only in moderation.'" It seems almost impossible! .

2MuchFun, Thanks for this video! I also watched the others associated with it and all I can say is: "Wow - lots of what's in there is counter to what I was told or read earlier". To summarize for others (and to explain my questions and concerns): There's no "pouch" that holds a meal. Instead the full feeling comes from many iterations of the espophagus squeezing food, bite by bite, through the band which signals satiety to the brain. Makes way more sense. Drinking during meals is fine, alcohol included. I was under the impression we were to wait 2 hours post meal to drink anything. 3 meals/day or less. Given that I'm supposed to get 1500 cals down, the only way I can see doing so when each should only include 1/2 cup of food is to supplement with Protein drinks and/or alcohol. If these vids aren't sticky'd, they should be (I didn't see them). Stuff like this is way more useful to me when I understand the what's, why's and how's. Beautiful! Thanks again!

You need to get an unfill. Alcohol is definitely not smart. Call and talk to your doctors office about payment plan if you must, but get it fixed! Transfer addictions are real!

Can't help, I don't drink any alcohol. Empty calories.

How does alcohol relax the band? I've noticed this but it must constrict the tissue around the band..interesting.

I LOVE the coconut ones!! I freeze them. They take longer to eat that way. Word to the OP: just be careful w sugar alcohols. It affects people differently, but they can have a laxative affect.

I'm a big beer drinker... I just told my friends No food and no alcohol...I'm in hell aren't I? They just laughed.. I've also been told when you can drink again you won't be able to drink like you did before... I actually stopped drinking coffee and sodas Nov. 7th because I knew it would be hard to stop cold turkey. I was an at least 6-7 cans of coke drinker a day on top of my two cups of coffee every morning.. I had a headache for damn near 3 weeks straight, but I'm good now!

Alcohol will relax your band, that is why you are able to eat/drink after drinking alcohol. I agree with Missy, please find a way to get an unfill asap. You are playing with fire using alcohol in this manor and your health is at risk. Please take care of yourself.

Thank you bigmike, jodimc, and Debbiebydesign. That's what I figured I'd have to do, leave it at the nurses station or something and just try to stop by every chance I get. I kind of like the flask idea but I can totally see someone turning me in thinking I'm drinking alcohol on the job!!!!! There are always SO many eyes on us nursing students!!

You need to find a way to get unfilled. For one, you're begging for a slip with it being too tight for months. The fact you're using alcohol as a way to eat is downright dangerous. It's not horribly uncommon for people to have transfer addiction, or essentially trade addictions, after bariatric surgery. By drinking as a way to eat you're putting yourself at high risk for alcoholism. More than just your band is at risk, your overall health is at great risk. Find a way to get an unfill before you do serious damage. Best wishes.

I'm an alcoholic...Sober over 20 years. When I'm out with a group of people I always get asked, "why aren't you drinking?" It's much easier to say "I just don't like it but thank you anyway" rather than explain I'm a recovering alcoholic. I'm very new to this weight loss journey, not even sure I will qualify, but if I do get surgery I plan on using the same logic I do with my sobriety. Basically it's nobody's business but if I feel someone will benefit from my story and they will keep things confidential, I will share it.

if a drink alcohol I can eat more?! anyone else?

my last fill was late in November, I'm to tight n haven't had time or money to get unfilled. I can't keep anything down food, liquids, sliders.. however if I drink alcohol I'm able to eat a little. . I know it's not healthy n I'm not loosin being this tight. but what affect does the alcohol have on the band?

When I was in the hospital nurse told me to sniff rubbing alcohol and put an ice cold cloth on my chest and that helped.

I know you will get back down and yes what your doctor is what is published in most journels. Most people lose the majority of their weight within the first 18 months and most never reach their ideal body weight. But i am one who believes in betting on the long shot and believe if you can change your behavior enough you can have long term success. Now I am ony a little over 2 years post op and have only been at or below goal since Sept of last year. So check back with me this time next year and we will see if I am still singing the same tune. I am also glad the holidays are over, I did not have a gain but I too had too many alcohol drinks and sweets and all it did was make my body crave that sort of food I had spent 2 years avoiding. Old habits sure do die hard. Good luck to you and we all know you can do this and shed those few pounds.

I'm about the same spot. The only issues that I have had, was if I ate to big of bite or eat too quickly. Haven't tried alcohol yet and made it a goal to stay off for a year. I can pretty much eat what I want, but am still eating a lot of "soft" foods. Eggs though still kinda give me a problem if they aren't cooked just right.

Hi Just thought I would let everyone know that I am still around - I have been very quiet lately. The past 2.5 months have been huge and as a result I haven't had a lot of time to checks the forums although I have popped in occasionally. My son turned 18 at the end of Oct so my parents ( who live in South Africa) came to visit. As it is a long way to travel and expensive they stayed until 2 Jan so that they could also Celebrate my 50th and Christmas and New Year with us. My sister and her 3 children (who also live in SA) came for 2 weeks to celebrate my Birthday. My house is a reasonable size but it was full to bursting with 10 people instead of the usual 4! I wanted everyone to have a fabulous time and see lots of new places and make lots of memories so the majority of the 2 months was spent out and about. We visited nature reserves, lakes, historic towns and villages, the beach, kid friendly activities, coffee shops, restaurants etc etc. We even went on a short trip to Darwin which is at the other end of Australia. My party was great. The theme was a night at the musicals and I dressed as a saloon girl in a hot pink sequinned dress. I have posted pics in my gallery. The downside is that I now have extra weight to shift. Although my scales tell me that I haven't really gained since my last Dr's visit in Oct my clothes tell me otherwise. Anything with a waist is too tight and so are my bra's! My lowest weight was between 50 -51 kg and I am currently sitting at approx 54.5kg.(It took me approx 6 months to lose most of my weight and I then lost a little more over the next 6 months and then easily maintained that until early this year). Now that everything is back to normal I have no more excuses. Step 1 is to cut out alcohol as I have drunk more than my fair share of calories over the holiday, step 2 is to stop eating chocolate, biscuits and cake and step 3 is to try to eat fresh , healthy unprocessed foods. If that doesn't help I may try a few days on shakes whilst contemplating my next step. Oh and of course I also need to move more. The scary thing for me is how easy it is at this point to eat the things I shouldn't be. I know that the band doesn't stop you eating things you shouldn't and that a lot of the control is in your head but for the first 3 years I didn't have the desire to eat the way I have been. I have been through a number of Christmases, overseas holidays etc and not gained weight. Yes I would have the occasional treat but most of the time the desire wasn't there and I found it easy to say no. Well now the honeymoon is well and truly over. The last year has been so much harder and I am beginning to understand why people say that the band only works for "X" years and then you regain. Of course when I was initially banded I refused to believe this and many of you probably will too. I have discussed this with my Dr who says that it does not stop working but generally you lose what you are going to lose within the first 18 months and then the loss stops, there are of course exceptions. I don't know if my age and being menopausal have anything to do with it but I am not going to let that be an excuse. I have way too many clothes that I need to be able to get back into. I refuse to go out and buy bigger sizes. I do know that it is going to be far harder to lose now than previously but I am determined that i won't be beaten.

They highly caution people against alcohol after WLS for this very reason. Because of a tiny stomach, we are now hyper sensitive to alcohol. Clearly we also have issues with addiction, hence the need for WLS in the first place. She most likely traded one addiction for the other. This is part of the reason that they make you do all the psych tests/interview prior and ask you about alcohol use prior to surgery. Very sad story.

It sounds like she swapped food for alcohol. WLS should have no negative impact on your liver. Sad.

Alcohol is really dehydrating. Make it difficult on the band because the body retains fluids.

Alcohol dehydrates you. Most people when dehydrated find that their band tightens and it is harder to eat.